How would I make a positive impact on the world with my art? That’s what I ask myself everyday, what can I do? When I was in middle school, I didn’t think there was really anything I could do much by making cartoons or designing, especially with the AI stuff going around nowadays. Then I realized, there is something I could do. When I was a kid, I would just sit around and watch cartoons, like Cartoon Network, Disney, Nickelodeon, all the works. I look at the screen, as if they hung up the stars for me. As years passed I look back at those days and how much time and effort it took to create something from only people’s creative mind, a paper and a pencil. I would always stay after the credits of these movies, waiting for the names of these artisans to roll up and admire them for all their great work. I want to be like them, to make people happy, whether it’s to a cheesy Disney film, a campy-horror cartoon, or just an educational kids show. I want to be that person that is able to share their joy with the world and do something that I love, while also being able to provide for myself in designing logos for small businesses or community projects, like making murals. I know it’s not much to go on, but for what it’s worth, I think it’s a pretty good start. I also know that there’s ways to help others, which is why I hope to raise awareness for those in need by doing community projects, murals, commercials and redesigning, all nonprofit. Along with that, any profits that I make in my animation and graphic designing, will go towards those I need, such as the Trevor Project, Global Refugee, St. Jude, to anyone that needs it the most. This is how I hope, how I will, make a positive impact to world with my art.

So here’s where it all begins, well not the “Big Bang” beginning, but my beginning. I’m Alejandra Ramos, I was born in December in the late 2000s, I am the eldest daughter of a family of five and I am looking to major in art. I am a graduate of STISD Science Academy, with a certificate in Fusion 360, in which I utilize both love and knowledge of engineering and artistic skills. I aspire to gain my bachelor’s degree in animation and graphic designing, as way to provide for myself financially and personally, as I wish to do something that I can feel proud to do with my life as I share my passion. My goal afterward is to make the world a little nicer with my art, even in the smallest ways possible, whether it is designing logos for small businesses, murals for community projects or what I always dreamt of doing as a kid, making cartoons. I knew that this was what I wanted to do because I want to give people that little feeling of escapism from reality, something that they can connect with or find joy in.

Why am I a fan of Sabrina Carpenter? Do I like her music? Yes. Do I like her shows and movies? I like those as well. Is it because she is a kind and confident woman? However, the real reason why I am such a fan is because of all the above, including the fact that I basically grew up with her in a way. The first time I ever knew about her, was when I had first watched the show, Girl Meets World, and I knew that right then and there I had a good feeling about this one. There has not been a day that I would miss a single episode, as I admired her character, Maya Hart, who was this rebellious, creative and loyal friend, with the witty comebacks, hoping to share that same confidence when I grew up. Unsurprisingly, she had a part to play in it, as it has now been eighteen years since, and I can feel a change from how I used to be as a kid. In my younger years, I was shy and mostly excluded from my classmates, wishing that I could just be like people like her that speak up so easily, not caring what others think. Now here I am, a high school senior, who is beginning to allow herself to feel confident and loving herself without questioning it, surrounded by friends that feel the same way for her. I thought I was already in love with this woman, but given the fact that this amazing individual has the voice of a siren and an angel, is just breathtaking. I love how I her songs continue to give me that same type of energy, much like her songs, “Looking at Me,” and “Manchild,” reminding me to just be my unapologetic self, along with the fact that I do not need to depend on a man to make me feel happy or loved, when I have the willpower to do that all on my own. Another thing that I love about her is how easily she is able to connect with others, whether it is a fan or a co-star, by reading the room and acting playful with them in a way that makes them feel comfortable. I love how she is unfiltered to the point that I have to be reminded that is a “Gen Z,” and knowing that is another reason I feel connected to her because we come from the same generation, raised on the same level of pop culture and unhinged, yet calming mindset. Thus concluding, why I am a fan of Sabrina Carpenter is because she lives by that amazing mindset and personality, with insane talent that I apply to my life and hoping to achieve like her when it comes to my goals.

The education that I have been given shaped my path towards where I want to be and who I want to be in my life. In the beginning, I spent most of my middle school life not knowing what I wanted, going through the motions of my curriculum with nothing to look forward to. However, all of that changed when my middle school added their first art curriculum when I saw my path being laid out before me. As a kid, I always had a connection towards my creative side, whether it was drawing out a cartoon character from a show, doodling or modeling a miniature sculpture out of playdoh. I was filled with so much passion for this, but had nothing to guide it, causing me to feel lost until I was now learning the specifics of making it better and even learned other different types of art, which led me to learning and wanting to go into animation. I thought I was finally in the clear of heading toward my destination of my future, till I faced the challenges in the following year of Covid-19, which led to difficulties for me when it came to my education. Throughout that year, I was with the obstacles of my class being stuck behind a screen, unable to gain the experience of hands-on learning in school, having to rely on the little bit of supplies I have been fortunate enough to get in order to keep up with the lessons. I managed to overcome the situations, building a routine into my education, and was happy to hear when we could return after a cure was discovered for the virus, only for my excitement to disappear once more when I could not go back, due to their unorthodox rule for no masks. I had to go through homeschool in the eighth grade, having only been taught the required education basics, such as math, history, spanish, but nothing on the one that would have led me where I wanted to go, as I kept going off the trail. I had lost my drive, till I regained it for the last time as I entered my high school years, being provided with the education that can help me towards where I wanted to be. I thought I had already learned so much, but I had not faced classes that taught me to expand my horizons like digital arts, 3D designing and sculpting, making me feel like I was getting back on the right track. After everything I have been through, I never would have imagined that I would make it this far towards my dreams, but now that I am I hope to use it to make a better future for myself. Before all of this, I had no aspirations, thinking that I’ll be fine living a steady life, realising that that was just settling in disguise. I did not want to settle, I wanted to live a life that would make me happy to wake up to everyday, rather than dread going to a nine to five job and having feelings of any sense of regret for the life I could have had. I hope to make a better life for myself by doing something that won’t weigh me down as I carry on making animations, whether it will be internet videos, short films or even the silver screen, knowing that I am proud of myself for it. That is how much my education is affecting me. By giving me the tools and resources I need in order to make something of myself, I can strive for the greatness I want to yield. It made me want something, gave me something to strive for in the first place. I have never wanted to work anything this hard in my curriculum, until I had something to work towards, as well taking the opportunity to use the education given to me as I climbed further and further for that horizon. I still do not know what is in store for me, if I’ll succeed, perhaps excel, or fail to reach my destination, but all I know so far is that I have my education to pull me back up. So what if I don’t become the animator I hope to be, I can still use the knowledge that have retained to build another pathway for me to reach that goal, and if I reach a dead end, I continue to march onwards till I made it.

The movie that has had such an impact on my life would be the Spider-Man (2002) because it became something I could connect with throughout my growth. As a kid, I have always loved Spiderman growing up with all the movies, shows, and toys, which turned into a domino effect of my childhood. It wasn’t until I got older that I began to notice the similarities between the way I felt when he was just Peter Parker, a kid who was seen as small and trying to live a mediocre life, until his life changed from that spider bite. He was changing into something greater, stronger and used that to help the people around him that felt small like him. That’s what I can connect with because I used to feel that way when I was in middle school, feeling excluded by my classmates and keeping my head down just to get by. That was until my spider bite came to me, and that was my art. My art is what gave me purpose and something that made me happy, like the way saving people made him. I also learned from him that even the strongest people fall down hard, as did I when I felt discouraged for my passion thinking it wasn’t enough, nevertheless getting back up like he did after every fight. It was even the creator himself, Stan Lee, who said these words when he made this character, “If you have an idea that you genuinely think is good, don't let some idiot talk you out of it,” which pushed me farther than I ever went before. When I continued to watch these movies, I saw the Spider-verse expanding to endless variants of spider-people, who went through similar struggles and managed to push through them. They didn’t let their failures or shortcomings take over, choosing to take that leap of faith and risk facing the unknown outcomes. I didn’t know that the fire of perseverance could grow any brighter from those words, but they did as it led me through the risks and judgement when it came to my journey towards becoming an animator, hoping to connect with others that Stan Lee and Spider-Man have done the same for me. I’m now reaching the last few months of my high school year, still carrying that faith from all those years, letting my passion grow as I am pursuing my Bachelors in Art. I still don’t know what’s to come, if I’ll fail, proving that my dreams were for nothing, or if I’ll be soaring towards greater sights, like my hero as he swings across the city. But if there’s one thing I’m sure of is that I won’t because that’s all it is, it’s just a leap of faith.

The way education in the arts has impacted my life is by showing me so many ways I can expand my creativity. As a child, I always felt a connection to art, from the very beginning, and my parents noticed and nurtured my interest as I got older. It would be the little things that my parents would do, like my father showing different types of shading techniques, or joining my mother as we used her Sharpies, doing our own drawings. As the years progressed, they would get me all kinds of tools that have helped me in my passions, until I reached middle school, where I was taught how to use these tools and would attend after school for art club to learn as much as I could. During my time there, there were times I felt disgruntled when my artworks didn’t turn out like the rest, but my teacher, Mrs.Barrera, always reassured me and was so kind to me, even showing me tips on how I could improve when I stayed for the art club. She is another individual who inspired me when it came to art, since she was so sweet and funny, and would find new ways to make it fun for the class, like creating doodle sketches at the beginning of class, telling us funny stories of her cat, or playing My Chemical Romance as we worked. Even when quarantine hit, she still managed to make us happy by showing us new subjects in those hard times, one of those memories being how to sculpt a flower with the homemade air-dry clay we made beforehand. Throughout COVID, I stayed indoors, where I was left watching animated videos and tutorials, which I would soak up like a sponge. Those videos gave so many ideas, as I began to let out my creativity on my iPad and create as many drawings as I could. This left me with a newfound appreciation for animation, seeing how much work is put into each frame to create a form of life in a masterpiece, which is found in every game, show, film, and even the funny internet videos people watch. I would continue to admire this work, connecting with the Disney princess movies and cartoons I grew up watching, until I found myself, to this day, staying for the credits as I acknowledge the animators in films I watch, hoping to see myself become one of them one day. Now I find myself in high school, learning all I can about art, along with incorporating engineering into my passion. The art education is amazing, as they don’t just have us sit around in a classroom, but have us explore the campus as we create different perspectives of the campus to use as inspiration for our assignments. I still remember junior year, when I took a digital arts class, and the teacher showed us how to make our own GIFs, as well as having us work in a group to create the layout of a game using Adobe Photoshop. I even got to experience the engineering side of it all when the school showed us the 3D printing software and learned how to use it, and I have been using it to create my own designs and prints ever since. This school has opened so many doors for me since then, and is now helping pave my path to the best art college that I wish to attend, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design; however, I can not accomplish that without the help of this scholarship to make it possible.